Today is the last day of my Week to celebrate the Launch of Carina Press. And what a last day it is! This morning I posted my review of THE BLOODGATE GUARDIANby Joely Sue Burkhart and to close the week off, I have an interview with the wonderful author: Joely Sue Burkhart, one of my favorite author discoveries of last year and one of the most friendly and generous persons I've encountered in the romance community.

EXTRA GIVEAWAY! In addition to being entered in the CarinaWeek giveaway that's been running all week, your comment on this interview will enter you for a chance to win an e-copy of THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN. And let me tell you, it's a book you'll definitely want to read if you like paranormal romance that's suspenseful, dark, action-packed and filled with fascinating mythology.

I'd like to thank everyone for making this a memorable and fun week: The staff at Carina Press, Angela, Ginny, Shannon, Kelly, Joely, my hubby who made the awesome banner and button, Leontine who helped me pimp this week and listened patiently to me whenever I went into my raving monologues about Carina Press and their books and of course everyone who came by and commented. So without further ado, I hope you'll all join me in welcoming Joely!

Let’s start with some QUICKIES to warm up…

Victor or Conn? Geez, the very first question is a toughie! I'd have to go with Conn, I guess—Victor can be pretty scary. * shivers delightfully *

Reading or Writing? Both, but I read less so that I can write more.

Digital or Print? Both! More digital lately since I got my iPhone.

Pantser or Plotter? Mostly plotter, but I pants my way through when I need to.

Q. Please could you start by telling us a bit about yourself?A. I'm married, have three monsters (girls) under the age of 11 and we live in Missouri, USA. By day, I work as a computer programmer for an insurance company, and in the dark hours either early morning or late night, I write my fanny off.

Q. Your book THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN comes out June 14th. This is the first book in a new series. Please tell us a bit about this book and the series.A. The original premise was a Maya Stargate, a mix of mythology, romance, and science fiction, which became a thriller once I realized that demons had escaped from the Maya hell (Xibalba). Everyone keeps talking about the Maya prediction that the world will end on Dec. 21, 2012. I asked myself what if that wasn't when the world would end...but when the Maya would return through their gates? Then the Bloodgates were born!

The official blurb for THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN:

Worlds within worlds await through the Maya Bloodgate…

Dr. Jaid Merritt doesn't do digs. The last time she ventured into the jungle, someone died. Now she's content to decipher Maya gyphs from pictures sent to her by her famous archaeologist father. But when he goes missing while trying to perform a ritual based on her translations of ancient codex, Jaid must put aside her fears and travel to Guatemala to find him.

After misusing misusing the Bloodgates to bring his twin brother back from the afterlife, the Maya priest known as Ruin was cursed by the gods to stand as the guardian for all time. He was unable to stop Dr. Charles Merritt from opening the gates, and now demons roam this world. The last thing he wants to do is hurt the beautiful woman who is somehow infused with his magic, but if she uses the codex to retrieve her father, Ruin must do his duty. And this time, he won’t fail. Even if it kills him. Again.

Q. You write Contemporary Erotic Romance, Fantasy Romance and Paranormal Romance. These are three very different genres. What genre are you most comfortable writing?A. Probably the speculative genres, because I control every aspect of the world in which I'm writing, but I do enjoy the challenge of writing in various genres.

Q. How long have you been writing, and how did you get your start? A. Back in September 2003 my beloved sister (Molly Burkhart, http://mollyburkhart.net ) called to tell me she'd just finished her first book. I was so excited for her that I accidentally admitted that I'd been writing a book too. She nagged, I mean encouraged! me to finish that book, which went on to become The Rose of Shanhasson.

Q. Do you have a favorite place or time to write? Do you try to keep to a specific writing schedule and strive for a certain amount of work per day? A. Because I work full-time, the best time for me to write is “dark and early” before work. I try to get up between 5:00 – 6:00 a.m. and write before I start work. I can do that for a month or two at a time, but then I need to take a break and sleep in a little! If I didn't have to work, I'd stay up all night writing because I love the wee hours of the darkness while everyone else is sleeping.

Q. Are you working on any books/projects that you would like to share with us? A. I'm in the brainstorming stage for a Science Fiction Romance series that I'm really excited about, while Victor (HURT ME SO GOOD) and RETURN TO SHANHASSON (Blood & Shadows #3) are in production. I'm also working on the next Maya Bloodgate novel and at least half a dozen other scribbled ideas! Whew, no wonder I'm exhausted!

Q. If you could change places with any of your characters which one would it be and why? A. Ha, I wouldn't trade places with any of my characters – I put them through too much grief!

Q. Which character did you have the most fun creating and why? A. It'd have to be Gregar. He walked on stage and just got better and better – while I take no credit whatsoever in his development. I didn't know what I had in him until much later, but he taught me so very much.

Q. What is your day job, if you still have one, and what do you like to do when you’re not writing? A. Oh, yeah, still have the “Evil Day Job” and if I have my way, I always will. I've been with the same insurance company 15 years as a computer programmer. I telecommute from our house, so I don't actually have to be “in” the office at all, I love the people I work with, and the work is challenging and yet mostly fun too. (P.S. It's not really an “evil” job!)

Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be? A. Coffee. I know that's probably cheating, but I make mine strong enough I can almost eat it with a spoon.

Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be? A. Right here doing what I'm doing, only I'd double the hours in each day so I'd have more time to write. Eventually, I'd like to move us all out to the country so we can have chickens and horses.

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my questions! I have truly enjoyed getting to know a bit more about you and hope my visitors will too!

Thank you so much for having me, Pearl!

GIVEAWAY-GIVEAWAY-GIVEAWAY-GIVEAWAY-GIVEAWAY

As announced last week my Carina Week will not be without a fabulous giveaway, courtesy of Carina Press! Up for grabs here on the blog is one coupon code worth $ 15 to spend at Carina Press, buying the books you'd like to try out. Believe me, if what I've read is an indication, there is something for everybody and the books I've read were gems in their genres, each and every one of them. Okay, now to the important part. How can you win this coupon code? That's easy.

Just leave a (meaningful) comment on the posts during my Carina Week.

Each comment will give you an entry.

There will be 6 Carina Week blog-posts so that gives you a maximum of 6 entries if you comment on every post. Mind you, you don't have to comment on every post, it just gives you more chances if you do.

Make sure you leave your email address with your comment (or email it to me, through the contact link in the left sidebar if you don't want to publicly leave your email address) because it's needed to be able to claim the code.

On Saturday June 12th I'll tally up the entries and pick a winner via random.org

I also announced last week that there would be 2 coupon codes of $ 15 each so you might wonder, what of the other code. That one will be the prize in a Twitter-giveaway so if you want another chance at it...keep an eye on my Twitter-accountthis week and get tweeting because each tweet including the hashtag #CarinaWeek will be entered for the Twitter-giveaway.

So there you have it...2 chances to win an opportunity to get your mitts on some Carina Press gems!

Haha, I became a fan of Joely at around question #3 when she talked about herself and said she has 3 montsres (=girls), I can SO relate! But not as a mom, but as a daughter! :-D LOL I ahve 2 younger sisters and we sure were a handful (and still are) to my parents :-)

Nice to meet you!

Pearl

Netherlands

39, married to my real life romance hero, addicted to TV shows, reading romance novels and Twitter. I'm a chronic (e)book hoarder and my absolute favorite genres within romance fiction are contemporary romance and romantic suspense, but I don't shy away from historical, paranormal or erotic romance either. Even the occasional (urban) fantasy romance, futuristic and sci fi romance may make it to my Mount TBR. This is my corner of the world wide web where I let you know what books I'm hoarding, reading and reviewing.